Season 2 - Episodes 8 & 9 - A Circus Adventure

To support our listeners and their families during school closures, all origingal music from the Reading Bug Adventures podcast is available to play or download now through April 30, 2020 May 31, 2020.

The Reading Bug has been working on a special talent and we're off to visit P.T. Barnum's Greatest Show on Earth to see other talented performers - acrobats, elephants, daredevils and more! But things get exciting when someone develops a case of stage fright. The show must go on, but how can it when the star performer won't perform? Join Lauren and the Reading Bug on this high flying adventure and maybe you'll find yourself performing in the circus, too!

Step right up for Dr. Seuss’s classic rhyming picture-book tale of young Morris McGurk’s big circus dreams. This circus has more than a mere lion tamer and trapeze artist! At the Circus McGurkus, you’ll be intrigued by the wink-hooded Hoodwink, terrified by the Spotted Atrocious, and amazed by the daring feats of the great Sneelock. And these are just a few of the astonishing things you’ll find under this big top.

In their trademark style, author Kate Klise and illustrator M. Sarah Klise blend a story bursting with jokes, puns, and wordplay with illustrations, signs, letters, recipes, and bold graphics to introduce Three-Ring Rascals. When Sir Sidney, a kindly old circus owner, becomes too tired to travel with his show, he places a Help Wanted ad in the newspaper. Enter Barnabas Brambles: “I have a degree in lion taming from the University of Piccadilly Circus.” But does Leo the lion need taming? Will Elsa the elephant still get her gourmet peanuts? And what will Brambles say when he discovers Bert and Gert—two mice who travel with the circus on popcorn cleanup patrol?

For anyone with a beloved pet, this delightful and heartwarming story set at the circus shows that quiet qualities like friendship, kindness, and loyalty are important and worthy. Jane is an ordinary dog in an extraordinary circus. She isn't strong, graceful, or brave like her family. When she tries to be those things, Jane just doesn't feel like herself, but she also doesn't feel special. Is she really meant for this kind of life? Her Ringmaster thinks so, but not for the reasons Jane believes.

Late one evening as the stars begin to twinkle, Harper and her friends are flying on the scarlet umbrella when they see a girl running on air, skipping along a tightrope. She leads them to the Circus of Dreams, suspended in the air by hot air balloons. There, they meet the mermaid acrobat, the spectacular circus baker, the mysterious fortune teller and the acrobatics troupe, all more spectacular than one could dream. But as they learn more about the Circus of Dreams, Harper learns a secret about her past that is more than magic. . . .

Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls! Feast your eyes on the one, the only, Louise Trapeze! Louise performs with her parents and her best friend, Stella, in the Sweet Potato Circus. And today is Birthday Eve! That means tomorrow, Birthday Day, Louise officially turns seven. Seven is old enough to fly on the real flying trapeze. The big one. The one way high up in the sky, that makes her stomach flip-flop at the very sight. . . . Uh-oh! Could it be that Louise is not 100% fearless after all? Might she actually—gulp—be afraid of heights . . . ?

The award-winning author of The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary, Amelia Lost, and Our Eleanor brings us the larger-than-life biography of showman P. T. Barnum. Known far and wide for his jumbo elephants, midgets, and three-ring circuses, here’ s a complete and captivating look at the man behind the Greatest Show on Earth. Readers can visit Barnum’s American Museum; meet Tom Thumb, the miniature man (only 39 inches tall) and his tinier bride (32 inches); experience the thrill Barnum must have felt when, at age 60, he joined the circus; and discover Barnum’s legacy to the 19th century and beyond.